Mikes New Hog Detail 01 Mar 24 2012.jpg
High Dynamic Range photography loves gleaming chrome just as much as gleaming chrome loves HDR.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Wing Tip to Wing Tip 01 Mar 21 2012.jpg
Viewed in isolation Vancouver is a very cosmopolitan city. Culturally diverse, Olympic host, vibrant metropolitan centers, etc. Viewed through the eyes of two golden eagles flying wing tip to wing tip over English Bay however it's a city that is still north of Washnington State and a great source of fresh salmon. Mmmmm ... sushi.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Lenticular Cloud 01 Mar 15 2012 Vancouver..jpg
Here's a nice shot of a lenticular cloud hovering over greater Vancouver on March 15th 2012 5:00 PM. This HDR processed shot was taken during the transit of a mini-high pressure system which was caught between this morning's low pressure cell of rain and snow and tomorrow's low of (hopefully) just rain. This cloud type is quite rare and lasted roughly 30 minutes with several smaller lenticulars appearing west of the city. Seeing one of these cloud types is pretty much up there with seeing a large whale (killer, blue or grey) in the waters of English Bay (which happens more often than you'd think).
Lenticular clouds form near the base of mountain ranges when the conditions are just right and today they were. With the BC coastal mountains at my back this beauty appeared. Oh yeah.
Mother nature - the true artist.
Friday, March 09, 2012
Ghost Islands Mar 08 2012 Now You Dont.jpg
An hour later the islands are just barely visible in the mists. I wonder if, in 20 years, they will return or will this new view become more common as the climate changes. My guess is that I'll see them again sooner rather than later.
Ghost Islands Mar 08 2012 Now You See Em.jpg
Roughly 80 km north west of downtown Vancouver, as the eagle flies, are the islands of Lasqueti and Texada. Snuggled inbetween the BC mainland and Vancouver Island these islands are, in my 20 years of watching sunsets, never visible from Vancouver. Yesterday around 5:30 pm, as another golden sunset built it's colorful momentum, for the first time I spotted the islands.
It was wierd.
For a time my mind refused to accept the fact that I was able to see a whole new strip of land off in the distance. It was like flipping between two visual realities. Once I'd got the islands in my camera's view finder (200mm telephoto zoom lense for the win) the islands 'snapped into reality. An hour later they were .... 'gone'. (See next image.)
Reminds me of the old wives tale of how, when Christopher Columbus and his three ships neared the coast of what eventually became Cuba the natives could not 'see' the ships. The technology Columbus had used to navigate from Europe to their home island was so outside of their experiential and cultural frameworks that their minds eye could not process the view and didn't 'see' the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria until they layed anchor off shore.
Food for thought for us photographers. You might not see the whole picture until you sit back and make the effort to really see it.
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
Power Sunset 02 Kits Beach Mar 06 2012 HDR.jpg
Here's the same moment same HDR and post production tweaks but zoomed back to show more of the zenth light. The soft sister of black's color of blue. The rare air.
Power Sunset 01 Kits Beach Mar 06 2012 HDR
I got home about 6:30 yesterday and this was the view from my living room. .... I love my apartment. :)
Needless to say dinner became secondary to the need to shoot a sequence of 4 HDR images of this power sunset. This one being 01. Nature truley is the artist.
Thursday, March 01, 2012
Flock of Fire Dragons 03 Feb 22 2012.
The third in the Fire Dragon series. A classic sunset over English Bay Vancouver on Feb 22 2012 that, thanks to HDR, suggest a flock of Fire Dragons chasing the setting sun. Hey ... I'm just the photographer. :)
Fire Dragons 04 Feb 22 2012 With Dark Dragons in Tow HDR
The fourth in the my Fire Dragon series. High Dynamic Range has shown me how much happens that I don't see directly but my peripheral vision does. In fact my HDR workflow is very reminiscent of my days as a kid playing in the darkroom I'd built in my family's basement (in two homes no less). Waiting for the true image to emerge from the exposed paper I was shuffling around in the tray of developer fluid (developer -> stop -> fixer = 3 trays) while in the magical red light of the darkroom has permanently stuck with me. With HDR the feeling (but not the smells LOL) of anticipation is very much back but in a ... wierd digital way. I also love that my go-to piece of photo management software is called Lightroom. :)
Friday, February 17, 2012
Spanish Banks Vancouver Sunset Feb 14 2012
Cool-Warm-Cool. Nature once again proving that two extremes can beautifully co-exist.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Power Sunset English Bay Vancouver Feb 15 2012
We had a pretty spectacular sunset Feb 15 2012 here in Vancouver and this is the first of the series. A very impressionistic treatment which goes counter to my goal for this year - crisp, sharp, low noise, low ISO, etc. But ... whatever. Resolutions are partially meant to be broken in an emergency right? :)
Sunday, February 05, 2012
Sirrus Sleeping In the Winter Sun Feb 04 2012
A nice warm shot of one of my cats snoozing in the winter sunshine. HDR treatment via Photomatix Pro 4.1 and then post processed in Capture NX/2.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Paul and Sophie Winterton Dec 25 2011
Paul invited me over for Chistmas Dinner yesterday (it rocked) and while the bird 'relaxed' after being cooked we took Sophie for a walk right at sunset and the time of 'Maglic Light'. Super long shadows. Warm tonnes. Slow shooting but lots of bouncing light.
Shot on an iPhone 4 and post processed in Capture NX/2.
Friday, December 09, 2011
English Bay Foggy Moonset Dec 09 2011
A very slow and multi-image exposure followed by High Dynamic Range processing of a very pretty moonset over English Bay Vancouver on December 9 2011. With the temperature hovering around -5'C the atmospheric clarity added a nice punch. Capturing the star trails was a complete and unexpected bonus.
Impression English Bay Sunrise Dec 09 2011
With thanks for the inspiration to Claude Monet and his 1872 work - Impression Sunrise.
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Frontal Interface Vancouver BC Nov 04 2011.jpg
Being on the west coast of North America we get some fairly impressive weather. And while we often gripe, grumble and otherwise get cranky over the endless wet weather systems (to the point we refer to where we live as the 'Wet Coast') days like last Friday and this approaching front system more than make up for. In particular went treated to a goodly dose of Hight Dynamic Range awesomeness.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Storm Front Sept 24 2011 IR HDR tonemapped.jpg
Vancouver's Kitsilano region looking west towards the Gulf Islands as a very moist Pacific frontal system rolls in from the north west. With a wind warning (60 to 90 km/hr) in effect as the system approachs it's time to batten down the hatches. Taken in Infra Red light and processed as a High Dynamic Range image.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Aug 24 2011 Sunset 02.jpg
An understated but none the less powerful sunset over English Bay Vancouver August 24th 2011. The highlights on the clouds right above the sun as she set really pulled me in. God painting with light. :)
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Manotick Jul 29 2011 09 Maggie 01.jpg
Here's Maggie. A very affectionate 4 or so year old tabby who not only reminds me of my first cat Jennifer but also one who has a cat's dream job. Keeping my sister's backyard clear of rodents (big and small) and keeping the local sparrow gene pool clear of the more moronic in the flock who think a big ball of orange, black and white fur nestled in the grass with tail flicking back and forth is not a .... err ... "risk".
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